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Dallas Lodge Holiday Party Benefits TSRHC Patients

On Saturday December 13, 2003, R.C. Buckner Lodge #1176 in Dallas, Texas, held its annual Christmas Party. As is the tradition of the Lodge, patients from the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children who live near the Lodge were invited as special guests. A record 23 patients from the hospital attended along with their families. Clowns from Hella Shrine in Garland, Texas, entertained the kids during dinner and intermissions. The Momentum Dance Company from Irving, Texas, presented “The Nutcracker Suite.” This company is comprised of dancers ranging from five to fifteen years old. The audience was delighted. A magician performed, and then Mrs. Santa Claus read “The Night before Christmas.” Finally, jolly Saint Nick himself arrived, and every child attending received a bag full of gifts and goodies.

This was the largest Christmas party ever held by Buckner Lodge with some 220 packed into the Lodge Room. More than 120 were children. The event was filmed by the City of Irving, Texas, public cable access channel and was broadcast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Submitted by John J. MacGregor, KCCH, Past Master of R.C. Buckner Lodge #1176

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New DeMolay Poster Available

The International Order of DeMolay for young men has developed a poster “Become an Advisor” (right), which is available for $2.50 plus shipping and handling. Grand Commander Ronald A. Seale, 33°, has sent a memo, along with a framed poster, to all Scottish Rite Valleys across the Southern Jurisdiction urging the poster be displayed in each Scottish Rite Center. Please direct orders or inquiries to Scott Thompson, DeMolay International, 10200 NW Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, MO 64153; call 1-800-DEMOLAY, ext. 522; or e-mail sthompson@demolay.org.

Pictured right clockwise from the top left are: Ill. Walter E. Webber, 33°, Sov. Gr. Cmdr., N.M.J; Tristin Murphy, State Master Councilor, Colorado DeMolay; Kyle Murphy, Past State Master Councilor, Colorado DeMolay; Ill. Ronald A. Seale, 33°, Sov. Gr. Cmdr., S.J.; Ill. Raoul L. Frevel, Sr., 33°, Imperial Potentate, A.A.O.N.M.S.; Raoul L. Frevel, Jr., son of the Imperial Potentate; Bro. Karl J. Frevel, 32°, brother of Imperial Potentate; Rocky Weaver, Past Grand Commander, Grand Commandery of Knights Templar, State of Missouri; Zachary Koelling, Fidelity Chapter, Missouri DeMolay; Bro. Gregory L. Kimberling, 32°, Grand Master, DeMolay International; Justin Johnston, State Master Councilor, Idaho DeMolay; M.W. Richard C. Broemeling, 32°, Past Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Idaho.

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Grand Commander Seale Conducts Special KCCH Investiture
for Brother Theodore S. Royster

Photo: E. John Elmore, 33°

On September 10, 2004, the Brethren of the Valley of Greensboro, North Carolina, held a special KCCH ceremony for Bro. Theodore S. Royster (center in photo), a member of the Valley of Greensboro since 1974. Sovereign Grand Commander Ronald A. Seale, 33° (right), performed the Investiture, which was also attended by Ill. William B. Brunk, 33° (left), SGIG in North Carolina and Grand Master of Ceremonies for the Supreme Council.

Judge Royster, who resides in Lexington, North Carolina, is a member of Lexington Memorial Lodge #696 and is a North Carolina District Court Judge in the 22nd Judicial District, which serves several counties. The day of the ceremony was also the birthday of Judge Royster, so the Brethren honored Brother Royster by holding a festive luncheon, hosted by Inspector Brunk and attended by Ill. H. Lloyd Wilkerson, 33°, Past Lieutenant Grand Commander and Past SGIG in North Carolina, and General Wilkerson’s wife, Jeanne, as well as several of Bro. Royster’s family and friends. Ill. William G. Sizemore, Grand Cross, who also was present, presented the KCCH patent to Brother Royster.

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Radford University Hosts 10th Annual
Scottish Rite Summer Clinic for Children

Pictured above at the dedication of the new RiteCare therapeutic recreational facility at Waldron Hall on the Radford University campus, Radford, Virginia, are (l. to r.): Judge Louis K. “Kerry” Campbell, 33°, Personal Representative, Roanoke; Lonnie Lee Godfrey, 33°, Secretary, Lynchburg; Samuel C. Crutchfield, 33°, Personal Representative, Danville; Jessica Pike, a child participating in the Scottish Rite Summer Clinic; Lynn Adams, Project Coordinator; Billy T. Proffitt, KCCH, Secretary, Roanoke; Joseph L. Kropff, 32°, member in Roanoke, cutting the ribbon; and Charles A. Wood, Jr., Vice President for Advancement, Radford University. Photo: Lora Gordon, Radford University

This past summer marked the 10th anniversary of the Scottish Rite Summer Language Clinic for Children at Radford University (RU) in Radford, Virginia. Held at the university’s Waldron College of Health and Human Services, the clinic, for youngsters three to six years of age, ran from June 14 to July 13. It is devoted to children with hearing loss or moderate to severe expressive speech and language disorders.

Graduate clinicians in the speech language pathology program, each a Scottish Rite scholarship recipient, work with the children individually and in groups. The focus is to provide family-centered intervention as a means of enhancing the children’s language and literacy skills.

This year’s theme, “Feeling the Beat,” accented the rhythm that underlies music, song, and conversational speech, but timing is often elusive to children with hearing loss and unclear speech. The children play music and dance to experience the rhythms through all their senses—hearing, seeing, and feeling. In addition to treatment for children participating in the program, the Scottish Rite provides on-site audiological evaluation and childcare for siblings so parents and children can participate fully and, together, become better communication partners.

Before a luncheon hosted by RU President Dr. Douglas Covington on July 13 for all participants, many children, clinicians, Scottish Rite Brethren, and their ladies gathered at a new therapeutic recreational facility adjacent to the clinic to dedicate a wooden “pirate” play ship, which is named “Gypsy” after Gypsy Kropff, now deceased, the longtime secretary of the Roanoke, Virginia, office of the Scottish Rite. Bro. Joseph L. Kropff, 32°, Gypsy’s husband, spoke at the dedication to thank all who contributed toward the therapeutic recreational facility and who continue to support RU’s Scottish Rite Childhood Communication Program. In particular, Brethren of the Valleys of Danville, Lynchburg, and Roanoke have provided significant support, and many of these Brethren were at Radford’s Scottish Rite Day to share in the recreational facility’s dedication and related festivities. Special thanks also go to Ill. George E. Dewese and his wife, Matsue, for their generous support of the RiteCare recreational facility and several other Scottish Rite initiatives at Radford University.

While five of the graduate clinicians, each a Scottish Rite scholarship recipient in Radford University’s speech language pathology program look on from the deck of the play pirate ship “Gypsy” in the new RiteCare therapeutic recreational facility, several of the 2004 Scottish Rite Summer Language Clinic’s children join hands for a keepsake photo.

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Ill. Forrest D. Haggard, GC, Honored in Kansas

Photo: Bro. William R. “Buck” Fischer, KCCH, Valley of Wichita, Kansas

On September 12, 2004, at the Northeast Kansas Scottish Rite Center, Brethren, family members, and friends shared a wonderful occasion with Dr. Forrest D. Haggard, 33º, Grand Cross. Ill. Thomas C. Raum, Jr., 33°, SGIG in Kansas, presided as the Kansas University Medical Center Hearing and Speech Clinic’s “RiteCare Center” became the “Forrest D. Haggard RiteCare Learning Center.” Dr. Haggard, noted Masonic leader, theologian, author, President Emeritus of the Scottish Rite Research Society, Personal Representative Emeritus, Northeast Kansas Scottish Rite, and philanthropist, known throughout the world, is waging a valiant battle against A.L.S., more commonly known as “Lou Gherig’s Disease.” Pictured (left to right) at the occasion are MW Allan L. Hurlburt, KCCH, Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Kansas; Dr. Haggard; and SGIG Raum.

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Waco, Texas, Scottish Rite and Baylor University Partner
To Conduct Second Annual Camp Success

Claude O. Ervin, 33°, Waco Scottish Rite Bodies’ Chairman, presents a check for Camp Success to Cynthia J. Dougherty, Director of Academic and Foundation Development–Baylor University, and Dr. Wallace Daniel Jr., Dean of College of Arts and Sciences–Baylor University. Also pictured (l. to r.) are Dr. Harold E. Jackson Jr., 33°, Chairman of the Waco Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation, and Bro. G. “Sonny” Juarez Jr., 32°, Chairman of the 2004 Waco Scottish RiteCare Learning Center Golf Tournament, and Bro. J. Damon Fehler, KCCH.

Camp Success, Baylor University’s second annual Central Texas language and literacy summer camp, held its awards ceremony on August 5, 2004, at the Waco, Texas, Scottish Rite Bodies Temple. Camp Success provides individual and small-group attention to enhance children’s pre-literacy skills to better prepare them for school. Under the guidance of 26 graduate clinicians and 6 faculty members, 52 students were served by Camp Success at the Baylor clinic this summer.

Claude O. Ervin, 33°, Chairman of the Waco Scottish Rite Bodies, presented certificates of completion and theme shirts to the students, ages 5 to 17. The certificates represent a significant accomplishment for the students. Dr. Michaela Ritter, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders, said each child received two and a half hours of language intervention and an hour of instruction from a reading specialist each day. Students achieved as much progress in four weeks as a typical student would progress in one year.

“ Students and parents are so excited about the improvement the children have made over the past month. Some parents have reported their children are asking them to read books to them for the first time ever,” Ritter said.

Summer 2004 “Camp Success” students paused to say “Thank you!” to the Brethren of the Waco, Texas, Scottish Rite Bodies for their support of the summer 2004 program.

The Waco Scottish Rite Bodies presented $42,995 to the University’s Communication Disorders Clinic to operate the special-needs camp, which ran from July 12 through August 6. The Waco Scottish Rite Bodies’ 14th Annual Learning Center Benefit Golf Tournament raised $23,700 of the gift. Scottish Rite members and community partners joined together to pledge the tournament proceeds, which are composed of sponsorships, player registrations, contests, auctions, and member donations.

Both the Waco Scottish Rite Bodies and Baylor University’s Communication Disorders Clinic in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders have a long history of helping children with language disorders and dyslexia. Today, there are over 165 RiteCare Childhood Language Program clinics, centers, and special programs for children and therapists located throughout the United States, while Baylor has graduated more than 1,200 speech-language pathologists since the department began in 1976. In turn, Baylor students have provided thousands of Central Texas children with treatment of their speech, language, and hearing disorders at little or no cost to their parents.

The Waco Scottish Rite Bodies have made a commitment to provide the Camp Success program through 2008. Clearly, the Waco Scottish Rite Bodies and Baylor University are supporting the RiteCare motto, “Scottish Rite Masons Helping Children Communicate.”

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Captain of H. L. Hunley Was a Mason

On February 17, 1864, one of the major events of the Civil War occurred in Charleston, S.C., when the H. L. Hunley, a Confederate Navy submarine commanded by Lt. George E. Dixon, sank the Housatonic, a Union blockader. Unfortunately, the Hunley then sank in the ocean off the coast of Sullivan’s Island, drowning Dixon and seven others. This was the third attempt of the submarine. The first attempt sank at the dock. Five of its eight men died. Next, Horace L. Hunley, namesake of the submarine, accidentally sank the ship in Charleston Harbor, killing himself and seven others. On its third attempt, this same submarine, now being restored at the Warren Lasch Conservation Lab in North Charleston, was successful in sinking the Union blockader but unsuccessful in resurfacing. It stayed on the ocean floor until it was located in 1995 and raised in 2000.

Freemasons and Civil War re-enactors were essential parts of elaborate ceremonies in Charleston, S.C., honoring the crew of the H. L. Hunley, a Confederate submarine whose commander, George E. Dixon, was a Mason. Photos: McDonald L. “Don” Burbidge, 33°, Valley of Charleston, S.C.

On April 17, 2004, Civil War re-enactors, civic officials, and Freemasons honored the eight crewmembers in elaborate ceremonies which included a Masonic funeral for Brother Dixon, a member of Mobile Lodge #40, Mobile, Alabama. About 50,000 spectators and a huge television audience witnessed MWB Jack A. Marler, 33°, Grand Master in South Carolina, give introductory remarks, and WB Wayne Simon, Past Master of McCormick-Mobile Lodge #40, lead the Masonic funeral service with the assistance of Brethren from Alabama.

For a fully detailed account of this historic event, please see the essay titled “Confederate Submarine H. L. Hunley” by Ill. Herbert S. Goldberg, in the INTERNET ARTICLES section, Nov-Dec segment, of the Supreme Council’s Internet site at http://www.srmason-sj.org.

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